


Outsmarted

by RainbowPlane



Category: Persona 5
Genre: And I am a well-trained pilot by now, Angst, Coma, Late Night Writing, M/M, Mental Shutdown, Not Beta Read, Post Sae spoilers, Team falling apart, The angst plane is departing again, Things didnt go as planned, severe angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-11 16:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16478654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowPlane/pseuds/RainbowPlane
Summary: Their plan failed.Akechi had figured out the Thieves were onto him, so he changed his plans entirely. Instead of shooting a bulled through Ren's head he triggered a mental shutdown within him.He survived, but now Ren is comatosed, with slim chances of recovery.This situation tears the team apart completely. Ryuji wanting to avenge his boyfriend, but no one willing to take that risk.But then a request for help finds the Thieves, one they did not expect in the slightest.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for some time now, but then I broke my laptop screen...  
> Right now I'm writing this on a tv, which is quite an interesting experience to be honest.
> 
> Expect my usual amount of angst with this one, maybe a little more...
> 
> Oh btw, if you aren't familiar with my stuff, don't expect a happy ending. I'm not sure about the ending yet, but I just wanted to warn in advance.
> 
> That said, enjoy!

_‘’How? How did he figure us out?’’_ This was the question that everyone was asking themselves, as they sat by the bedside of their leader.

Ren was in a coma. Akechi had outsmarted them after all.

‘’Aaargh!’’ Ryuji yelled out as he violently hit the wall next to him to relieve some pent up tension. He was ready to kill Akechi the moment he laid eyes on him again. He dared to try and kill Ren.

He tried to kill the one that saved all of them, the one that saved Ryuji. The first one Ryuji loved, his actual boyfriend.

But now his boyfriend was nothing but a plant, being kept alive by machines, chances of survival are slim.

No one really knew what to do. All were angry, angry at Akechi sure, but also angry at themselves.

Futaba has been in a state of soft sobbing ever since she saw the phone location leaving the building in one go. That was the indicator they had failed to her.

Then, after she had calmed down a little she contacted the others, all rushing towards Leblanc straight away. They didn’t know what had happened. They didn’t know whether Ren was still there inside that basement, whether he was still alive.

It wasn’t until they all sat there together, when the news came on, that they knew what happened.

_‘’The police have reported that the leader of the Phantom Thieves has been found unconscious in the interrogation room. They suspect his team has disposed of him to not risk getting caught themselves, but details are not yet available.’’_

Everyone then knew. They had failed. Akechi outsmarted them in the end. Makoto ended up calling her sister in, hoping they could explain the truth without her arresting all of them. They were in luck that Ren had at least succeeded into convincing her of their story, of the truth.

Sae had told them where Ren was being located, and she offered to get them in, just for a small moment.

Now they were there, but no one knew what to do. They were defeated.

‘’Wh-what are we gonna do now?’’ Futaba asked softly as her sobbing quieted down.

It took everyone a moment to realise the silence had been broken, and even some more to find an answer. ‘’I don’t know.’’ Yusuke said softly.

‘’Can I just go and kill the bastard?!’’ Ryuji’s anger still hadn’t calmed down in the slightest, he wanted to get his revenge, above all else.

But obviously that wasn’t the way to go. ‘’Although I can understand that feeling, we can’t do such a thing.’’ Makoto tried to reason.

‘’Why not?! He tried to kill one of us too. It’s only fair if we end his ass.’’ Ryuji voice began to get louder and louder with every word.

Ann took a step in his direction. ‘’Ryuji, please calm down.’’ She tried to lay her hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off instantly.

The anger in his eyes continued to grow. ‘’No! I will not calm down!! He hurt Ren!’’ Ryuji yelled out.

Then all of his bottled up emotions broke loose, tears streaming down his face as he just sobbed loudly. ‘’I’m sorry.’’ He tried to apologize to everyone while he was now crying. ‘’Just… Can you give me a minute alone in here?’’

No one spoke a word, they nodded and left in silence. All knew about their relationship, and all knew there was no one who was hurt more by their current situation than Ryuji. It broke their hearts even more to see their own teammate in pain too.

Ryuji went over to the bed, to his now almost lifeless lover, and grabbed Ren’s hand tightly. ‘’Ren, I’m so sorry.’’ He whispered as he held the hand to his face, almost in an attempt to bury his face into it. ‘’I… We should’ve never sent you out like that, never should’ve put you into this amount of danger.’’

Moments went by, the only sounds in the room being the sounds of Ryuji’s sobs and the machines surrounding the bed. ‘’But I can promise you one thing.’’ Ryuji whispered after he calmed down a little. ‘’I will get my revenge on that bastard. And most importantly, I will be here when you wake up again.’’

Ryuji kissed the hand he was still holding, before leaving the room behind. He knew he wasn’t allowed in again for a long time, but he also knew staying there wouldn’t change a single thing.

But Ren was going to wake up, he had to.

 

The following week was rough on the Thieves. They hardly spoke to one another, and when they did it was nothing but short meaningless conversations.

Talking together made them remember, made them realise again how they had screwed up everything, how they lost their leader.

At the end of the week they ended up to meet up together again, since they had to discuss their future.

‘’I know none of us really want to be here right now, but he have to.’’ Makoto began to talk after they all sat down. They still had Leblanc as their ‘hideout’, even when the smell of coffee brought back so many memories of him. ‘’We really need to figure out what we’re going to do now, whether we continue our work as Phantom Thieves.’’

The implications of those words hit everyone real hard. Were they still going to do thief work when their leader is gone? ‘’I don’t think we can continue, the public opinion has tumbled as well.’’ Haru stated. Everyone was talking about how the PT tried to kill off their own leader, about just how terrible of a group they must’ve been.

‘’But, can we really stop here?’’ Futaba asked.

No one knew an answer. Morgana especially has stayed quiet. He still wanted to get into the depths of Mementos, but he understood that was probably too much to ask of everyone now.

But Ryuji had spent the entirety of the week thinking. ‘’We have to! We have to change the opinion of the public back into our favour! To show that bastard of an Akechi, and his boss, that we are not that easily defeated!’’ He yelled out, being a little frustrated that no one seemed to share his ideas.

‘’I’m sorry, but that would be way too dangerous. Akechi has already shown us what he’s capable of. We can’t all risk to share the same fate as Ren.’’ Makoto tried to reason. She knew it wouldn’t be of any use, but she had to try.

Ryuji’s emotions became the better of him again, as he recalled the sight of Ren, lifeless in that hospital bed. ‘’Why not? Ren has always risked his life for the better. If we give up now his sacrifice would’ve been in vain! He would be in that stupid bed for nothing!’’ He began to yell even louder, legitimately scaring some of them in the room.

‘’Ryuji! Calm down! Ren risked his life to protect us!!’’ Ann yelled out. ‘’The last thing he would want is us risking our lives now! And you should know that is what he would think!’’

The shock of someone yelling back made Ryuji retreat in quiet. He went too far. ‘’I… I just miss him so much.’’ He mumbled.

‘’We all do.’’ Yusuke added.

Then the silence returned. They parted ways again not long after.

No one spoke to each other again after. All were thorn cause of everything. All just wanted to ignore the painful truth.

They Phantom Thieves officially disbanded, Akechi had won.

What they would’ve never expected, however, was a request for help from the last person they would’ve expected.

_The very last in the world._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

_‘He, he actually did it?’_

Akechi was alone in his room, he didn’t bother to actually check up on everything at the station, but the news quickly spread.

The leader of the Phantom thieves was found completely unconscious, after no one had been with him for a long while. The main suspects are the thieves themselves, disposing of their leader before it was too late.

Obviously that wasn’t the plan Akechi had originally been working on, but after Akechi had noticed the team acted a bit unusual he began to suspect he was figured out. It didn’t take him long to get sure of it after.

He never contacted Shido, or anyone else for that matter, about the change of plan. He knew they had a formidable hacker on their side, one that could’ve easily tracked his online and phone history.

That did leave him with his phone calling almost as soon as the news of the fall of the PT leader became public. Shido needed answers.

‘’I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know about this, I had suspicion they had access to my phone.’’ Akechi said as soon as the somewhat angry voice of Shido sounded through.

He wasn’t that happy, he wanted to see the guy dead, but Akechi did manage to convince him this could’ve actually been a much better outcome. Now the public is even more disgusted by the Thieves, now that they believe they actually disposed of their own leader after he was taken in.

There wasn’t anyone left who openly supported the Phantom Thieves. Their time in the spotlight was officially done.

 

Akechi’s own popularity was vastly rising too again now. Even when he was seen to be doubting that the Thieves were behind everything before. The only thing he needed to do was appear on TV a few times and look intensely sad that he was mistaken, but that what the Thieves had done was completely unforgivable.

That he would do everything in his power to get them all into jail, even when he would be risking his life doing so.

No one seemed to notice the little detail that the Thieves as seen by the world would’ve already killed Akechi, they only saw a brave detective trying to save them all.

 

It has been about a week now, a week full of TV appearances and such. Akechi found himself at the station rather late again.

What he didn’t expect was that there was someone else at that same station at the same time. And it definitely wasn’t one of his fans.

‘’Akechi!’’ The loud voice yelled from across the empty hall. Footsteps getting closer and closer. Akechi wasn’t even fully turned around yet when the other was already right next to him.

But when he saw the angry brown eyes, the first thing he did was put on his fakest smile. ‘’Sakamoto-kun, haven’t seen you around in a while.’’ He said, pretending nothing was wrong.

But Ryuji wasn’t having any of it. He aggressively picked Akechi up by his collar, his thoughts blinded by pure anger. ‘’Don’t you effing pretend like nothing has happened!’’ He yelled out. ‘’You actually tried to kill him!!’’

It was clear that Ryuji was overwhelmed by emotions. Tears began to fill his eyes as he spoke.

Akechi just kept smiling in the same plastic manner. ‘’You really think this is going to help you? It sure won’t bring your leader back.’’ He said, his smile turning a little more sinister. ‘’Oh, wait, he was also your boyfriend, right?’’

Those words hit Ryuji right where it hurt the most. Without even thinking for any other second he punched Akechi right in his face, letting him fall to the ground. ‘’You fucking psycho! Do you honestly feel nothing for all the lives you’ve taken?!’’ Tears came running down fast, but Ryuji wasn’t weakening his yelling any bit.

Even though Akechi’s face hurt real bad, as soon as he looked up again he was still smiling, trying to contain himself from laughing out loud.

As he got up Ryuji’s instincts told him to take a step back, Akechi was indeed completely out of his mind. ‘’You really aren’t the brightest, are you?’’ Ryuji was unable to respond, his feelings still strong, but he knew this was dangerous. ‘’You should know just how popular I am by now. If anyone walks by and sees this they will interfere, or call the police. I can get all of you arrested as Phantom thieves whenever I want too.’’ Akechi’s eyes showed danger. He was enjoying this way too much. ‘’Or perhaps you want to take ultimate revenge and kill me? I’m perfectly fine with that, if you really want to take that path too.’’

Akechi spread his arms wide, inviting Ryuji to land another hit, but instead Ryuji just lowers his hand. He is defeated once again.

‘’That’s what I thought.’’ Akechi lowered his hands too, trying to regain his composure, before anyone would walk by and see him smile like a maniac. ‘’I’m trying to be real generous and let you guys walk, but if you do stuff like this again you’re all done.’’ He then threatened. He really didn’t feel like getting punched in the face again, it really hurts.

That did leave Ryuji with another question. ‘’Why? Why do you even keep us alive?’’ He asked, knowing this could be incredibly dangerous to ask.

But it wasn’t apparently. ‘’Cause you guys can still be useful.’’ Akechi answered. What he said after was barely loud enough to hear, yet Ryuji did caught it. ‘’And as long as you guys are here I’m useful too.’’

There was this weird mood surrounding them now. Ryuji wasn’t sure whether he heard that right, part of him didn’t want it. If that truly was what he was saying Ryuji could actually feel bad for him, and if there’s one thing he didn’t want was sympathising with the guy that took away the one he loved!

Akechi read the atmosphere, and he knew it was time to leave. ‘’Hopefully our next meeting won’t be this painful.’’ Akechi walked off.

‘’Hopefully I never meet you again.’’ Ryuji added, as Akechi was already too far away to really hear it.

 

Despite both expectations Akechi did found himself back into the presence of him not that long after. ‘’What the eff do you want now?’’ Ryuji asked extremely violently as Akechi actually called them all into Leblanc one evening.

‘’Well, I need your help.’’ He answered.

The whole room went silent for a moment. No one wanted to even talk to the traitor that tried to murder their leader, let alone help him! But at the same time they also knew Akechi wouldn’t ask for them without any reasons, without him being convinced he could actually make them.

‘’With what? What could be so difficult that the great detective can’t do it by himself?’’ Makoto asked. She didn’t feel like being any form of polite towards the guy in front of her.

Akechi actually took a deep breath, before answering. ‘’I need to kill someone, but I can’t do it by myself.’’ He said.

Of course no one was ready to help him after hearing that. No one wanted to actually help murder someone! ‘’Who?’’ Futaba asked, she was curious just why it was so important to Akechi.

‘’You guys could probably know him by the name of Masayoshi Shido. He’s probably the most known politician at this moment.’’ Akechi explained honestly.

No one really knew what to do for certain. They actually saw the pain in Akechi’s eyes as he spoke out that name, but he still was the guy that attempted to murder their friend. ‘’Why?’’ This time it was Yusuke who asked.

Another deep breath, which actually took everyone off guard slightly. ‘’Because if I don’t, he will end up killing me.’’ Akechi answered.

‘’And you honestly think we would care about that?’’ Ann commented.

‘’Of course I don’t. You guys might care about the fact that he’s the one who told me to kill everyone. That he’s the one that actually benefits from it all the most.’’

Those words resulted into another silence. They knew Akechi was only the one to execute, they knew someone else was pulling the strings. ‘’Why would you turn against him so easily? Why would he kill you when you’re still of use?’’ Makoto asked some of the questions that ran through the mind of all of them.

‘’Because as soon as he’s elected he doesn’t have a use for me anymore.’’ Akechi reacted honestly. ‘’And rumour has it that he wants to dispose of me even sooner now.’’

‘’Why kill him?’’ Haru asked. She could kinda understand Akechi’s reasoning, but to actually take a life was way too much in her eyes.

A pained smile formed on Akechi’s face. ‘’Well, my main goal has always been to get revenge on him. If he wants to dispose of me sooner I can’t complete my old plan, I need to result to more extreme ways.’’

‘Why? Why does he want revenge?’ This was the question that now went through everyone’s mind, but no one dared to ask.

‘’I still can’t see why you can’t do this alone.’’ Futaba said.

It took Akechi a small moment to come up with the right way to respond to this. ‘’He’s very well-trained in cognitive pscience. He used to work at the same place as your mom after all.’’ Akechi said, which immediately made Futaba flinch slightly. The mention of her mother paining her deeply. Luckily Akechi wasn’t finished talking yet. ‘’He probably has some tricks up his sleeve to keep me out, but I doubt he’s protected against a whole team.’’

‘’Then why should we help you? You gonna threaten us or something?’’ Ryuji asked. He managed to get his initial anger calmed down a little, even when it took him a while.

‘’Of course not, no one would be really motivated when I would do such a thing, right?’’ Akechi smiled as he said it, but that smile only made most in the room feel sick. Then his expression changed to something more serious. ‘’I have a deal for you all.’’

Everyone was sceptical, they had all reason to be. ‘’And what might that deal be?’’ Ryuji asked.

No one was ready for the answer that came, not at all.

 

_‘’If you help me out, I’ll wake up your leader again.’’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, personally I love Akechi, but there was something really satisfying about letting him get punched in the face.
> 
> This appears to be an irregular one when it comes to updates, but I suppose I only have like 1 or 2 chapters left to go anyways...
> 
> :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typed almost all of this during sprints, didn't edit anything either, should still be fine?
> 
> (It's 1:30 am already??)

_A large cruise ship seemed to be the location they were headed. Even though not all of them fully agreed to help Akechi yet, they kinda felt like there wasn’t much choice. Everything for their leader._

 

‘’What do you mean, wake him up?!’’ Ann asked as soon as Akechi said he could.

It was a shock for all of them, some felt hopeful that they could see Ren’s smile again, others were way more sceptical. ‘’There’s never been a case of someone waking up of such a mental shutdown, how would we be able to trust it’s even possible?’’ Makoto asked.

‘’Well, no public reports have been made of such instances of course, but there’s still the cognitive pscience research.’’ Akechi answered.

‘’Go on.’’ Futaba simply said as another silence fell.

Akechi was waiting for such a respond. ‘’The research has been of a far more advanced kind as you guys might think. There have been secret instances of people getting woken after they’ve survived a shutdown. It’s best describes as reviving their cognitive self again.’’ He explained. ‘’Obviously I’m not going to give you guys any details.’’

No one really knew how to respond to this, they all wanted to believe it was possible, but the thought of having to help Akechi murder someone was what kept them all back.

Well, all but one. ‘’Ren… He can wake up again?’’ Ryuji was in a complete shock. He could wake up again. Ryuji could see his beautiful smile some more!

‘’Yes, he could. And I’m not asking you guys to actively murder someone, just to help me clear out the palace and protect me from traps and such. I’m the one to pull the trigger.’’ Akechi said.

Still there were many mixed feelings. ‘’Although I want him to wake up, I don’t think I can help to end someone else’s life.’’ Yusuke responded.

‘’Why not?’’ Ryuji stood up, his mind was definitely cleared up, albeit clouded by love. ‘’What makes the life of this dude more valuable than the life of our leader? We sure as hell know he ain’t gonna wake up by himself anytime soon!’’ Ryuji’s voice was close to breaking, everyone could hear it.

It was clear that Ryuji wanted to see his boyfriend again, wanted to see him move around and such, but there was something just so morally wrong about actively helping to end someone else. ‘’Is this really what Ren would want though? I don’t think he would like it if we told him he woke up cause someone else died.’’ Haru said, softly.

But Ryuji wasn’t having any of it. ‘’He has nothing really to say about it now! Now he doesn’t think any of it! He’s…. He’s just as lifeless as a dead person.’’ Ryuji couldn’t find the right words, but he knew what he wanted. ‘’Please… Please let me see his beautiful shining eyes again…’’ Ryuji almost busted out into tears from saying that.

The whole room went silent, no one knew what to do. ‘’You sure you can wake him up?’’ Makoto asked Akechi once again.

‘’Definitely, I have full access to the research after all.’’ Akechi responded. He avoided to say too much, since he believed that would be the best way to get what he wanted. The same emotions that hurt his face the other day might be the key to success right now.

‘’Alright, I’m in.’’ Ann said. She was uncertain most of the time, but seeing just how hurt Ryuji was was enough to get here over the edge. And if she was honest, she herself wanted to see Ren alive way more than a bastard of a politician.

It took the others a moment, but eventually they all agreed. Some still being incredibly hesitant, but they still joined.

 

That’s when they found themselves at Shido’s palace not that long after.

‘’So… You have any idea how we’re gonna do this?’’ Futaba asked as they all stood outside.

Akechi scratched the back of his head. ‘’To be honest, I have no idea. I never dared to get in here by myself.’’ He reacted.

This made them all realise just how dangerous this place would be. Even the one who has gone solo through so many cognitive worlds didn’t dare to get in here alone. It was a frightening thought.

But they had to, to save Ren. It was a weird feeling to fight beside the one that had betrayed them all, the one they didn’t trust, but it was something they could handle.

Especially Ryuji was highly motivated to finish this, no matter what.

 

It appeared the shadow of Shido didn’t show himself anywhere by himself, their only choice was to fully finish the palace to hopefully trigger a meeting when they were close to the treasure.

There were too many of those letters to collect, but with Akechi it all went by easily. He wasn’t keeping any of his strengths a secret anymore, and him at full power was a terrifying sight.

So far they haven’t encountered any traps or real dangers either, it made them all a little suspicious. They believed Akechi when he told them there should be some, but the absence was nerve wrecking.

Especially to Akechi himself. He began to get more and more afraid of what was to come. And honesty, that feeling was totally valid.

The engine room, they just gathered the last letter they needed.

‘’Should we go and get in immediately?’’ Makoto asked as they walked out of the room where ‘the cleaner’ had been.

‘’Probably yes, but it’s possible he isn’t showing till a real threat is around. We might even need to get him a calling card and all.’’ Akechi reacted.

But before the conversation could go any further, they heard a voice from right behind them. ‘’Or maybe you need to get out and never return? Seems like the safest option to me.’’

They all vaguely recognised the voice, but confusion hit them.

Turning around however made them met eyes with a figure looking just like Akechi himself. ‘’So, this is the trick he had prepared, interesting.’’ Akechi responded. Deep down he was a little scared, he knew that the powers of this cognitive version of him would be incredible, but he wasn’t backing down yet. This is why he had brought a whole team with him after all.

The others, however, weren’t so confident. ‘’Akechi, that guy is out scaling us in strength by a lot. Even compared to you.’’ Futaba warned. She could sense something that was way too dangerous, something even Akechi couldn’t overcome.

‘’I knew this was gonna be something.’’ Akechi said.

‘’I see you actually brought some friends, impressive, for such a useless tool like yourself.’’ His cognitive self remarked. It took a step forwards, but kept distance a little. ‘’You know, you can just run. And never return obviously. I might let you go.’’

Akechi laughed a little. ‘’No, you won’t. I’m pretty sure you’ll do whatever you can to kill me now.’’ He said.

‘’You’re right. But that’s just how you are, complete all requests he makes, whatever it takes.’’

A silence befell onto them all. They didn’t know what to expect anymore. ‘’Are you going to kill all of us?’’ Yusuke eventually asked, stating the question that has been on everyone’s mind.

‘’Not especially. Not unless you’re in my way.’’ It answered.

Akechi sighted. ‘’I guess this is it then.’’ He took a step forwards. ‘’I’m not getting out of here it seems, you guys can try and join me in this fight, but hearing Futaba that could be fruitless.’’

It was Ryuji that actually pulled Akechi back. ‘’Don’t. You need to live to wake Ren up, right?’’ He asked. He wasn’t gonna let all their progress go to waste, not now.

‘’Yes, but I’m not getting out of here either way. This plan has failed it seems.’’ Akechi reacted.

But that was the only confirmation Ryuji needed. ‘’Close it.’’ He whispered, right before he charged forwards, straight towards the cognition.

Akechi didn’t need long to realise what he meant, but he did need some time to progress what just happened. ‘’Wh-what are you doing!?’’

‘’Saving your ass.’’ Ryuji said as he was already there, hitting the cognition in the face with his bat. It gave them a few moments, a few moments before it would get up and fight. ‘’Just just make sure Ren wakes up. That’s all I want.’’

The certainty in Ryuji’s eyes was all that it took for Akechi to turn around, and shoot the switch that would separate them.

The whole group wanted to protest, but everything went by long before they could. ‘’Ryuji!’’ Ann yelled as soon as she saw the door close in front of her.

The last thing they saw was the cognition stand up, pointing a gun at Ryuji. Then the door closed. Two gunshots were heard. One luckily sounding like a shotgun.

‘’Futaba?’’ Haru asked.

Futaba had fallen down to the ground. ‘’He, he actually killed him?’’ She mumbled.

No one really knew what she was referring to. ‘’Who?’’ Yusuke asked, being a little hesistant.

‘’Ryuji, well, both, but Ryuji managed to shoot the cognition in one go. He should’ve been way too strong for that…’’ She began to cry. ‘’I can’t sense either of them anymore.’’

‘’Maybe it meant that his love for Ren gave him the strength to kill him.’’ Makoto tried to make sense of the situation, even though something like ‘the power of love’ didn’t really exist.

Everyone went silent for a moment after. They just lost another member of their team. And this one was certain to not get back.

Akechi kept himself silent too, he was in shock even. Someone just sacrificed themselves to let him live. Even though he knew Ryuji didn’t care about him, it still was almost too much to progress.

‘’Alright, we’re not getting anywhere while being here. Let’s leave.’’ Morgana was the first to move. Soon everyone following.

They managed to complete the rest. Akechi telling them he would get to the last part, the actual killing, by himself. He didn’t want to burden them much longer.

The news of Shido’s dead came around not that long after. The whole country being in chaos, wondering whether it were the Phantom thieves that did this.

 

Akechi did keep his promise. He told the Thieves to wait by Ren’s bedside, that he would get it done immediately.

The mood was grim, but it lifted a bit as soon as they saw Ren’s eyes open. ‘’Oh my god! You’re back!’’ Ann yelled, a bit too loud.

Ren was obviously confused, but he did his best to look around the room. He saw every one of his friends, but one face was missing. The face he felt like he wanted to see the most. The one of his boyfriend. He didn’t know, so he asked.

_‘’Where’s Ryuji?’’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this marks the end of this!  
> (Happy endings just ain't my thing)
> 
> Soo... Hope you enjoyed?  
> See you around another time maybe?

**Author's Note:**

> Although I can't make any promises, knowing myself I will update this fic rather soon. (This idea has been stuck in my head for way too long for me not to hyperfocus on it.)
> 
> I know this was short, and I know nothing really happened yet, but I wanted to get this out here already.
> 
> See you guys soon, when some actual progression takes place...  
> (This fic is probably rather short, like maybe two more chapters, unless I find ways to go crazy with it of course)


End file.
